Signed Wings sign Brad Richards 1 yr, $3 million

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

RIchards had 14 points, in 24 playoff games last year.

Was there best forward against Anaheim as well.

Ya don't forget what team he was on and what players he played with

[kickazz 5,459]

I'm glad only if this allows Z or D to hang up centering duties and allows them to play on same line. Doesn't matter who centers the Z - Pav - Abby line, they both play all over the ice front to back. They can alternate on faceoffs for all I care. Z goes on wild stretches where he's winning 60-70% of faceoffs while Pav is more consistent but goes thru some bad stretches himself. Pav and Z used to switch centering duties all the time between 2005 and 2009.

Richards and Sheahan can switch 2nd/3rd line centering depending on whether Sheahan is ready to take on opposing team top forwards. I think he's getting there.

Edited July 1, 2015 by kickazz

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

Ya don't forget what team he was on and what players he played with

Exactly.

He outplayed Toews, Kane, Hossa, Saad etc. in that series. I thought Anaheim had the team to win it all this year. That is very impressive.

Edit: Put it this way, if it keeps Cleary off our team it's a huge win for us.

Edited July 1, 2015 by darkmanx

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

They don't play center? So I am not sure how Richards hurts their chances.

He's a roster spot isn't he?

Still think playing with the hawks made him look better than he is, don't forget he's 35 and just had 37pts playing with great players

Anyways it's done, just a one year deal so I won't lose any sleep over it , just rather of added someone like a ward if we had to sign someone but whatever it's done

[kickazz 5,459]

Richards > Weiss > Cleary.

That's all I'm going to say. This was a mild upgrade for our roster. Got rid of a useless center and hopefully gets rid of Cleary the locker room stud.

[westcoastfan 0]

If he has as much in the tank as Pav or Z at age 35 I'll be happy

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Exactly.

He outplayed Toews, Kane, Hossa, Saad etc. in that series. I thought Anaheim had the team to win it all this year. That is very impressive.

Edit: Put it this way, if it keeps Cleary off our team it's a huge win for us.

Don't know about that ... If your anaheim your keeping your eyes on those you mentioned , not richards

And please don't jinx it with cleary lol

Edited July 1, 2015 by nyqvististhefuture

[kickazz 5,459]

Don't know about that ... If your anaheim your keeping your eyes on those you mentioned , not richards

If it's Anaheim. they'll keep their eyes on Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Nyquist and Tatar. Not richards. Similar situation.

Edited July 1, 2015 by kickazz

[joesuffP 1,746]

Ward isn't going to take a 1 year deal so that's multiple years of a 3rd liner blocking our capable young guys from playing. I think Larkin gets a handful of games with us this year and next year is a regular meanwhile Sheahan takes another step forward

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

He's a roster spot isn't he?

Still think playing with the hawks made him look better than he is, don't forget he's 35 and just had 37pts playing with great players

Anyways it's done, just a one year deal so I won't lose any sleep over it , just rather of added someone like a ward if we had to sign someone but whatever it's done

A roster spot that plays center. Who else is going to play there? Datsyuk is out to start the season. Injuries are going to happen this year.

Playing with the Hawks will defininetely help the stats, no doubt. He just scored 37 points, playing center. Ward only had 1 season with a higher PPG, let's also mention he is 35 years old. Ward had less points last year the Richards and got to play with Ovechkin and Backstrom.

[Bannedforlife 403]

I wonder if Cleary's wife will enjoy the weather in Toronto?

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

Don't know about that ... If your anaheim your keeping your eyes on those you mentioned , not richards

And please don't jinx it with cleary lol

Then you can say that about any player that has success.

ex: Tatar / Nyquist only has success because they are only focused on D and Z.

You are talking about a guy that has had 91 points twice in his career. He isn't some scrub, although he is slowing down.

Edited July 1, 2015 by darkmanx

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Well low risk, high return if it works nice if it doesn't no buyout needed.

I like this signing

[derblaueClaus 1,668]

Looks like Richards is our insurance in case Dats and Z get injured. For that the pricetag is a little bit hefty for my taste but we have the caproom and with the 1-year term I can't see anything wrong with that signing. Nothing exciting, but nothing disappointing either.

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

A roster spot that plays center. Who else is going to play there? Datsyuk is out to start the season. Injuries are going to happen this year.

Playing with the Hawks will defininetely help the stats, no doubt. He just scored 37 points, playing center. Ward only had 1 season with a higher PPG, let's also mention he is 35 years old. Ward had less points last year the Richards and got to play with Ovechkin and Backstrom.

Ward still got 19 goals and is a big body that hits and is a beast in the playoffs every year , he brings something we lack ... Too many of the same players here

Then you can say that about any player that has success.

ex: Tatar / Nyquist only has success because they are only focused on D and Z.

You are talking about a guy that has had 91 points twice in his career. He isn't some scrub, although he is slowing down.

91 pts twice ... Ages ago he's 35 now and clearly on The decline

Tatar/nyquist produced when zetterberg and datsyuk were out and again 10 years youngers

Edited July 1, 2015 by nyqvististhefuture

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

Ward still got 19 goals and is a big body that hits and is a beast in the playoffs every year , he brings something we lack ... Too many of the same players here

Goals are nice, but we don't need anymore wingers. You were complaining earlier about Jurco / Pulks not getting a chance but then you want to bring in a winger? We have a position open at center, which allows us to slide Sheahan down to 3rd line center to provide more depth.

I just gave the example of how good Richards was in the playoffs last year. He would most definitely help us against some of the East teams, seeing how much better the West is.

[Buppy 1,720]

Huge middle finger to Weiss. Funny in a way.

[Hockeymom1960 5,107]

Welcome to the Detroit Red Wings, Brad. You are now playing for the best franchise in the world!

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Goals are nice, but we don't need anymore wingers. You were complaining earlier about Jurco / Pulks not getting a chance but then you want to bring in a winger? We have a position open at center, which allows us to slide Sheahan down to 3rd line center to provide more depth.

I just gave the example of how good Richards was in the playoffs last year. He would most definitely help us against some of the East teams, seeing how much better the West is.

Said if we had to add a body I'd rather it be ward since he shows up in the post season which is all I care about and brings us a different look

Still not expecting much from richards this year, hope I'm wrong but I'm not counting on richards to be a big reason for our success

Gonna look out for green and adding him to our ppl , and the kids getting even better

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

[Buppy 1,720]

Ward still got 19 goals and is a big body that hits and is a beast in the playoffs every year , he brings something we lack ...

He has 5 goals and 18 points in his last 35 playoff games. Exactly the same as Richards has in his last 35.

[Buppy 1,720]

So, I assume he'll wear #91...

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

So, I assume he'll wear #91...

Oh no! I never thought of that. I'm a Feds lover and I don't want to see that. Maybe he could just choose one of the numbers around that like 90....oh wait.

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

So, I assume he'll wear #91...

If he doesn't I think we have our answer for if Feds jersey will get retired.

[plopster 136]

Looks like Kenny is trying to give his new coach the best chance. I think he and babs had been in agreement to just make the playoffs and let babs go when his contract expired. He was good at first but Kenny is insistent on the youth movement and a fresh coach with that too. Definitely seems like too much of a coincidence.